Supporters Rally in Ghazni Over ICC’s Request for Arrest of Two Taliban Leaders
GHAZNI: On January 26, 2025, approximately 200 Taliban supporters gathered in the central Afghan city of Ghazni to protest the International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders.
This protest followed the announcement on Thursday that ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan had sought arrest warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani over the persecution of women.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, the government has imposed numerous restrictions on women and girls, which the United Nations has described as “gender apartheid.”
Demonstrators in Ghazni condemned Khan’s move, chanting slogans such as “Death to America” and “Long live the Islamic Emirate,” the name the Taliban authorities use for their government.
“We have gathered here to show the West that their decision is cruel and rejected by Afghans,” said Ghazni resident Noorulhaq Omar.
“It will never be accepted because the Afghan nation will sacrifice their life for their emir,” he added, referring to Akhundzada.
Hamidullah Nisar, Ghazni province’s head of the information and culture department, also joined the rally, stating, “We totally reject what the ICC has said against the leadership of the Islamic Emirate, and we want them to take back their words.”
Afghanistan’s Taliban government dismissed Khan’s arrest warrant requests on Friday as “politically motivated.”
Meanwhile, human rights groups and activists have praised the ICC’s move.
